House of Problems
by charn14
Summary: Finally Updated! Read and Review! DO IT!
1. House of Parties

**Don't worry, never drank before in my life. I know all this from watching Glee and family members getting drunk.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HoA, but I wish I did… Btw, just call me Charn =]**

Mara's PoV

I woke up early Saturday morning, a week after prom. I quickly got dressed and went downstairs. "Trudy, are you up yet?" I called as I went down the steps. I heard no answer, so I went into the kitchen. "Trudy?" I said again, but she wasn't there. Where is she? As if he read my mind, Jerome walked in and gave me an answer.

"Trudy's mother is in the hospital and she left late last night."

"Oh…" I felt bad.

As if he read my mind, he spoke up again. "It's not your fault, Mara. Now if you'll excuse me, I need food."

I noticed I was standing in front of the fridge. "Oh, my bad." I stepped out of his way and made it to the common room to watch some television.

Soon enough, everyone woke up and was all fighting for food in the kitchen. I didn't want to take part in it, so I stayed on the couch.

Victor walked in. "What's going on here?" He boomed.

Fabian spoke up. "Trudy's gone and we're all hungry."

He looked confused. "Where did she go?"

"Her mom's in the hospital," Nina replied.

"Well then… Listen up, all of you. I will be gone for the entire day and part of tomorrow. I expect everything to be the same as it was when I get back." Victor announced. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jerome and Alfie exchange glances.

I turned my attention back to Victor. "When are you leaving?" I inquired.

"I will be leaving in a matter of minutes." He replied.

I nodded.

After ten minutes, Victor left. Right as he closed the door, Alfie and Jerome called everyone into the common room.

"What is this about?" Mick asked as he sat down next to me.

Jerome glared at us, but soon turned his attention back to everyone else. "Alfie and I will be throwing a party while Trudy and Victor are gone." He said.

"What?" We all said in union.

Alfie piped up. "It's gonna be awesome! But only for us, no one else invited."

I looked up at them curiously. "I know I'm going to regret asking this but, is there going to be alcohol?"

Jerome nodded and Fabian stood up. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope," Jerome said with a smirk.

"But it's against school rules! And we're not even old enough to buy any!" Nina said.

"So?" Jerome said, still smirking.

"So how do you expect to get any?"

"Oh, dear, naive, Nina. You just don't get it, do you? Victor has a liquor cabinet in his office. He hasn't opened it in ages, so he won't notice anything's missing." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. For some reason, I felt a ping of jealousy when he did this. It's probably nothing, right?

"B-but…" Nina said.

"No worries Nina. Everything will be fine…" Patricia said. I looked over at her. I gave her a "_what the hell_" look and she shrugged.

"Oh and I almost forgot. There's a dress code, but only for the girls." Jerome said as he handed me a note. I looked at it and then looked up at him with a disgusted look on my face. He just smirked.

LATER THAT NIGHT, BEFORE THE PARTY…

Amber, Nina, Patricia and I were getting ready for the party. The dress code was just short skirts, but it still felt degrading. I had to borrow a denim skirt from Patricia and Nina had to do the same. Amber was the only one who seemed happy about wearing short skirts.

"I'll kill Jerome when this party is over…" Patricia said, putting eye liner on. I sighed and continued to brush my hair. Patricia put make-up on me earlier so I looked like "New Mara" again, except I didn't straighten my hair this time.

"I don't understand what you all are so upset about; I think this is going to be _so_ much fun." Amber giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'm ready. How about you guys?" I asked, setting down a brush.

"Ok, let's go rock their worlds." Nina said and we all laughed.

We all walked downstairs and all the guys stared at us. I blushed when Mick came up and kissed my cheek. "You look amazing Mara…" He said.

"Thanks." I replied.

We all walked into the common room and all across the coffee table were bottles of, I assumed alcohol. Jerome stepped in front of us and clapped his hands once. "Ok, since this is all awkward for us, we're all going to have one shot before we start the party, just to loosen up." He said to all of us. He took a bottle and poured its contents into eight tiny shot glasses. He handed each of us one. "On the count of three. One…Two…Three…!" We all threw our heads back and poured the drink down our throats.

I gagged. "Whoa…" I said, barely audible. Everyone else seemed to have the same reaction.

"That stuff is really strong…" Fabian spoke up.

After a couple seconds, the taste calmed down, and I felt relaxed.

"Ok, let's party!" Nina said. We all cheered and Jerome pressed the "Play" button on the CD player.

Mick took my hand and we started dancing. He did his weird dance and I laughed. Jerome came up and handed us both cups of God knows what. "Here"

I took the cup from him and smiled. "Thanks Jerome," I said so he could hear me over the music. I then to a drink of it. It wasn't as strong as the other stuff, but it still burned my throat.

Soon, everyone was drinking a lot. I couldn't stop laughing. Neither could everyone else. Nina, Patricia and I were hanging out with each other, laughing at stories that weren't really funny.

"M-Mara… You'll never believe this…Ha-ha!" Nina said as she sipped some of her drink. "The house, it can come to life!"

I laughed and so did Patricia. "D-do you think we should be telling her this, Nina? We could put her in danger!" She giggled.

"It's fine, don't worry. Anyway, the house can come to life! Isn't that nutty? Oh and there's this Elixir of Life Victor's dad created and Victor's 95…!" Nina threw her head back and laughed.

I laughed too, not realizing what she was telling me. Suddenly, Mick came up behind me and kissed my neck. "He-e-e-e-e-y…" He said.

I turned around and kissed him full on. Soon enough, we were on the couch, snogging like crazy. Jerome came over and pulled us off each other.

"What the hell Jerome?" I asked.

"I don't like you two doing that!" He yelled.

Mick glared at him. "You're just jealous Jerome!"

I laughed. "W-why would he be jealous…? He likes Patricia!" I giggled. They laughed along with me.

"I do not!" Jerome said, still laughing. "Hey, we should all play spin the bottle!" I cheered. "Hey, guys! We're going to play Spin the bottle!"

Soon, we were all in a circle around a bottle. "Ok, so here are the rules. You have to kiss the person it lands on, even if it's of the same gender." Jerome said, pushing his hair out of his face. I noticed his hair was messier than usual. I laughed.

"I'll go first." Patricia said, chugging down some of her drink. She spun the bottle and it landed on Nina. Everyone "Oooh'd "when they kissed each other. They broke apart after a while, laughing.

Next up was Fabian. He spun it and it landed on Amber. He leaned over, kissed her, and quickly backed away.

Now it was Amber's. She spun it and it landed on Mick. She giggled, leaned over and kissed him. They stayed like this for awhile, until they finally broke away, smiling.

Up next was me. I took the bottle, and spun it. After a couple spins it landed on someone. I looked up to see Jerome's eyes staring at me. He leaned over, ready for my kiss. I was about to kiss him when Aflie said, in a drunken voice, "You finally get what you want mate!" I rolled my eyes and pounded my lips against Jerome's. The first thing I noticed was that his lips were super soft. I put my arms around his neck and he took his hand put it on the back of my head, deepening the kiss. After what seemed like forever, I broke away. His eyes were shining and I blushed.

After the game, I started drinking more and more to the point where my vision was fuzzy and I was slurring my words. I didn't know what I was doing or any recollection of what happened until I finally fell asleep.

THE NEXT DAY

I woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover. Suddenly I noticed I was only in my bra and underwear. I wasn't in my room either. I noticed there was person at my side, sleeping. I looked over and gasped at what I saw.

Jerome.


	2. House of Regret

**Glad you all liked the first chapter. I'm kinda on a writing streak so I'll update, hmm, now. **

**Do I really have to do a disclaimer? We all know I don't own it.**

Mara's PoV:

I just about screamed. What the hell happened last night? "Um, Jerome, wake up…" I whispered into his ear.

He stirred and sat up, rubbing his head. "What do you want Ma-"He began, but stopped once he realized what was going on. "Um…"

I nodded. "What did we do?" I said nervously.

"I can honestly say I don't know…" He said shyly.

I heard rustling in Alfie's bed and then another surprise showed itself: Patricia fell out of Alfie's bed.

Jerome laughed, but I slapped his arm. "What was that for?"

"This isn't funny! I bet everyone slept with someone last night!" I hissed. Then my eyes widened: Amber and Mick probably slept together. "Jerome, this is gonna sound weird, but may I borrow some clothes?"

He nodded and got out of bed. He was only in boxers, and I have to admit, he doesn't look so bad… _Whoa, Mara,_ I thought to myself,_ you have a boyfriend._

Jerome went to his closet and pulled out a white shirt and pajama bottoms. "Here, they're from a couple years ago, so they'll probably fit." He said, handing me the clothes. He then grabbed a red sweater and plaid bottoms for himself.

I stood up and pulled the shirt over my head and put on the pajama bottoms. "Thanks…" I said sheepishly and I quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. Ow, the slightest sound of the door closing made my head throb.

After I got over the sound of the door closing, I gasped. The house was a mess; Bottles and cups were sewn throughout the hallway. Victor is gonna kill us, I thought. As if on cue, I heard the front door open. I quickly ran into Jerome's and Alfie's room. "We have a problem." I said closing the door.

"Don't be so loud…" Jerome said, putting his hands to his temples.

"I think it's about to get louder, so cover your ears."

Suddenly I heard a booming voice. "What is the meaning of this?" Victor yelled, waking up Alfie and Patricia, and probably the others. Patricia sat up, rubbing her head. "This can't be good…" she said.

Victor yelled again. "Get in out here! ALL OF YOU!" Jerome and I exchanged worried looks. I then opened the door and walked out. I looked over and saw Nina and Fabian walk out, followed by Mick and Amber. I knew it, I thought. They all looked really embarrassed. I didn't blame them. Jerome stepped out of the room, along with Alfie and Patricia. On the bright side, we were all dressed… Who am I kidding; there is no bright side…

Nina's PoV:

When I heard Victor yell, I knew we were in trouble. I opened my eyes to see Fabian lying next to me. I went wide-eyed.

Now I'm defiantly in trouble.

"Fabian, get up, now!" I said, shaking him furiously.

"Nina, what's- Oh my God…" he whispered.

"Yeah, um, what the hell!" I screamed quietly.

"Uh… "He said, pointing over to Mick's bed. Two people were in it; Mick and-

"Amber?" I asked. Apparently she heard me, because she sat up quickly. She was still in her clothes from the party, but they were all messed up.

"Wh-where am I?" She asked, and then noticed me and Fabian. "Why are you guys-why am I-what the hell is going on!" She said loudly, too loudly if you ask me.

Mick woke up. "Ams, don't be so loud…wait, Amber?" He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Get out here! ALL OF YOU!" Victor yelled again. We all got out of bed, made sure we had clothes on; thank God we did, and walked out of the room. Mara was standing outside Jerome's room, wearing what seemed to be Jerome's clothes. Mick's not gonna like this… Then again, he slept with Amber…

Oh. My. God. The house was a _mess._ Bottles and cups were everywhere, and food was actually sliding down the walls. Ew.

We all made it to the common room. Oh, and I found out Patricia and Alfie slept together. Wow.

Victor's face was like a cherry; bright red.

"What is the meaning of this, eh?" He asked, showing us the room. I looked down at my feet, too embarrassed.

Jerome spoke up. "It was my idea to have the party…" Really? Jerome confessing?

"You all are grounded. Now clean this up." He said and left the room. Wow, not only is Jerome confessing, but Victor didn't bite our heads off… Now what was that Trudy said awhile ago about the apocalypse?

We started to clean up and stuff. It was really disgusting, so I won't tell you anything…

I went over to Patricia. "So you slept with Alfie last night?"

"Yeh, I don't know why though…" She said, mopping up some type of drink.

"We were all drunk. We didn't know what we were doing. I mean Jerome and Mara slept together and so did Mick and Amber."

"True, but did you see Jerome and Mara kiss last night? It was really intense…"

"Yeah but we kissed, remember?' I said, shuddering.

"Don't remind me Nina…" She shuddered too.

I started picking up bottles when I remembered something.

_*FLASHBACK*_

_Patricia, Mara and I were all in a circle in one corner of the room, laughing our heads off for some reason. I spoke up. __"M-Mara… You'll never believe this…Ha-ha!" I said, sipping some of my drink."The house, it can come to life!"_

_Mara and Patricia laughed. "D-do you think we should be telling her this, Nina? We could put her in danger!" Patricia giggled._

_"It's fine, don't worry. Anyway, the house can come to life! Isn't that nutty? Oh and there's this Elixir of Life Victor's dad created and Victor's 95…!" I said as I laughed harder._

_*END OF FLASHBACK*_

"Uh, Patricia, we have a problem…"

"What?" she asked.

"Last night, I told Mara about the elixir…"

**I'm gonna end it there… Dun dun dun!**


	3. House of Initiation

**Charn: This is more of a rough draft, possibly, so I'm open to ideas in this chapter.**

**Jerome: I know how about when M-**

**Charn: Don't give it away! They have to read it for themselves!**

**Jerome: Whatever…**

**Charn: *sighs* I don't own HoA…or the Da Vinci Code**

Nina's PoV:

Patricia looked like she was about to blow up. "You what?"

"Hey, you were there too, you should have stopped me!" I hissed.

"I did try to stop you!"

"…I also told her about the house coming to life." I mentioned.

Patricia shook her head. "This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"

"We need to let her into Sibuna now. She might start asking questions."

"Or she might have forgotten it."

We both looked over to Mara, who seemed to be steering clear of Jerome.

I turned my attention back to Patricia. "Sibuna meeting tonight. Same time, my room. Bring Mara." I then went over to Fabian. "Hey Fabian, do you remember anything from last night?" I asked.

"Sorry, I'm drawing a total blank…" He answered, sweeping up some cups.

"Damn…"

After several minutes of silence, he spoke up again. "Well, I remember one thing…"

I looked up at him. "And that is…?"

"At one point, we were all snogging."

"What?"

"Oh, right, um, making out..."

I nodded. "Yeah, and?"

"I think it's what lead to everyone sleeping with each other, because it was all with the same person; Jerome and Mara, Alfie and Patricia, Mick and Amber, and…" He trailed off, blushing.

I felt my cheeks turning red too. "Right…Um there's a Sibuna meeting tonight, same time in my room."

"But I thought the mystery was over."

"Well, we still need to initiate Jerome and I kind of slipped up last night."

"What do you mean?" He asked, clearly confused.

"I may have told Mara about the elixir and the house coming to life…" I waited for him to yell at me or something, but he never did.

"You were drunk, Nina. You didn't know what you were doing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks…So, Sibuna meeting?"

He smiled back. "Sure thing…"

Mara's PoV:

After we were all done cleaning, which was around two o'clock, Patricia came up to me. "Hey Mara, I have to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"What do you remember from last night?"

"Nothing much besides playing spin the bottle and when you and Nina were talking to me."

"Do you remember what we talked about?"

I thought back. Nina mentioned an elixir thing, Victor being 95 and the house coming to life. "Well, Nina said Victor was 95 and something about an elixir…" I said.

Patricia cringed. "Meet me in Nina's room tonight around 7, 'k?"

"Wait, you don't actually _believe_ what Nina said?"

"That doesn't matter right now." She said in a snotty voice.

I looked at her quizzically. "Oook."

Patricia ran off to talk to Nina and Fabian about who-knows-what. I decided to go talk to Mick, who was in the kitchen. Shocker.

"Hey, Mick?" I asked when I walked in.

"Yeah Mara?" He said with food in his mouth.

"I want to talk to you about…the recent events."

"Oh," He swallowed to food. "Why?"

"Because you slept with Amber and I slept with Jerome and-"

"Wait, _you_ slept with Jerome? I thought you slept with Alfie!"

"Mick, calm down-"

"I'm not going to calm down! You slept with Jerome! He's the biggest flirt in the world!"

"Oh and what's Amber, hmm?" I said, starting to get fed up.

"She's different."

"Different? How?"

"She actually gets me. Unlike you Mara."

That stung. "You know what Mick? You're a hypocrite. You think it was so wrong of Jerome and me sleeping together, _by accident_ I may add, while you think it's totally fine when it was you and Amber." I stomped my foot on the ground.

His face lit up with hatred. "That's because it was perfectly fine!" He yelled at me.

I stared at him in awe. My mind was racing. Did he remember anything from last night? "What do you remember from last night." I demanded more instead of asked.

"Everything. I didn't drink much, actually. I remember everything."

"Then why did you hook up with Amber? And why didn't you stop me and Jerome?"

"Um…"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm waiting for an answer."

"Well, I tried to get you and Jerome to stop, but you guys didn't, so I thought I would make you jealous…"

"While I was drunk?"

He pounded his fist against the counter. "You know what? You were right; we bring out the worst in each other. I don't know why I ever let Amber talk me into getting back together with you." He stormed out of the kitchen. It was only then did I notice that everyone was around the kitchen, obviously listening in on our conversation, if you can even call it that.

Tears stung my eyes. He was right and so was I; we bring out the worst in each other. I just didn't want it to be true this time. We were getting along so well lately. I quickly left the room, pushing my way through Nina and Fabian. Right before I was out of earshot, I heard Nina whisper to Fabian. "Are we sure she should be in Sibuna now?"

~AROUND 7 THAT NIGHT~

I was crying all day, and I was still crying when it was time for this "meeting". I walked down the hall to Nina's room and opened the door. I was surprised to see almost everyone there, except for Mick.

"Hey Mara, come in." Nina said.

I looked at her warily, but sat down on the floor next to Patricia.

"So," Nina continued, "you remember the stuff I told you last night, right?" I nodded. "Well, it's true."

I looked at her, my mouth open. "You're joking, aren't you?" She shook her head.

"And there's this cup, called the Cup of Ankh that allows someone to live forever if the elixir is drunk from it." Amber piped up.

This was all too much. "Would you guys stop it? It's bad enough Mick and I broke up earlier, now you're all joking about an Elixir of Life?"

"We're not kidding Mara. It really does exist." Fabian said. I looked at all of them in the face. They were all telling the truth.

I sighed. "I believe you guys, even though it sounds completely crazy." They all smiled.

Nina raised her right hand to her right eye. "Sibuna."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Anubis backwards. It's our club name and the hand over the eye is our symbol." Patricia answered.

I smiled and did the same thing as Nina. "Sibuna."

"Now we don't have much time, so Jerome, Mara, you guys go get something special of yours and bring it back here quick." Nina said again. I looked over and Jerome and he shrugged.

~20 MINUTES LATER~

We were all standing outside in the freezing cold around a fire. In my left hand I had my blue ribbon from the first spelling bee I won. Jerome had what seemed to be a book. I wasn't sure what it was though.

Amber stepped forward. "You two have been granted the chance to become members of Sibuna. Now through your special possessions into the fire."

I looked at her like she was insane, which she was. "I'm not burning this!" I held up my ribbon.

"You have to make a sacrifice if you want to join." Amber said cheerily.

I sighed and stepped forward. I dropped my ribbon into the fire. Jerome followed suit. Before the book was totally destroyed, I got a glimpse of the cover; The Da Vinci Code.

"Yay!" Amber cheered. "Anyway, Jerome raise your right hand and repeat after me: I, Jerome Isaac Clarke."

He raised his hand. "I, Jerome Isaac Clarke," He seemed to be embarrassed by his middle name.

"Promise to keep the secrets of Anubis House,"

"Promise to keep the secrets of Anubis House,"

"And never speak of anything to anyone except the members of Sibuna."

"And never speak of anything to anyone except the members of Sibuna."

"Yay, you're a full member now Jerome!" Amber giggled.

"Yay, you're a full member now Jerome!" Jerome mimicked.

"Stop it."

"Stop it."

"I'm serious!"

"I'm serious!"

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!" Jerome stomped his foot down, acting like a child. Alfie laughed.

"Unless you want to be burned like your precious book, I suggest you stop it."

Jerome raised his hands up in surrender. "I was just kidding Amber, yeesh…"

Amber rolled her eyes. "Ok, your turn Mara. Now repeat after me, just not like Jerome; I, Mara Nichole Jaffray,"

I took a deep breath and raised my right hand. "I, Mara Nichole Jaffray,"

"Promise to keep the secrets of Anubis House,"

"Promise to keep the secrets of Anubis House,"

"And never speak of anything to anyone except the members of Sibuna."

"And never speak of anything to anyone except the members of Sibuna."

She clapped her hands excitedly. "You're a member of Sibuna, too!"

I smiled at her. "Sure am."

Nina looked down at her watch. "Good, we still have time to make it back to the house." Alfie grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it on the fire.

We all started to leave when Jerome pulled me back. "Mara, how are you feeling?"

"I've been better, thanks Jerome. Oh, by the way, nice choice in books." I smiled at him. "So why is that a prized possession to you?"

His face darkened ever so slightly. "My aunt gave it to me before she died…"

"I'm so sorry Jerome…" I put my hand on his arm.

"It's fine, it's not like you killed her." He joked. "And before I forget, I want those clothes back."

I realized I was still in the clothes he gave me earlier. I blushed. "Sorry, I'll give them to you tomorrow before school, ok?"

He thought for a moment. "Ok, but I better not find any girl crud on my shirt in the morning." He said with a smirk.

I laughed. "And what will happen if you do?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out…" And with that, he walked off into the darkness with the others.

**I hope you all liked it! I would really like some feedback on this and some ideas for the next chapter. I know this one didn't really have a cliffhanger, not a "OMG, is she gonna die?" one at least**

**~Charn **


	4. House of Worry

**Hello all! Here's chapter 4, and I think this it's gonna be a good one. And I might change the rating to M because of an idea I have, but I'm not gonna tell you guys what it is…**

**REVIEW! And I don't own HoA, but like everyone else, I wish I did. ~Charn**

**P.S. for the first part of the chapter, everything in italic is Nina's dream.**

**P.P.S I had to go to the doctors 2day and they had to run blood tests on me…just felt like I should tell someone =]**

Nina's PoV:

_All of the Sibuna members were in a circle except for two; Jerome and Mara._

_Rufus stood in front of us. "You're time is running out. Bring me the Cup and the elixir, or I'll mummify your petty little friends alive." He sneered._

_I spoke up. "What does it matter? The Chosen Hour is long gone."_

"_No, you see, the Chosen Hour only mattered for the coming together of the Cup. I can still gain immortality."_

_I looked at him with disgust._

"_Time's ticking, Nina. You have 24 hours, and then I want the Cup and the elixir. I'd do it sooner rather than later, your friends don't seem to be enjoying themselves…"_

_Suddenly, a floating orb appeared. What I saw made me want to scream, cry, and punch Rufus in the face._

_It was Jerome and Mara. They were in two separate cages. In the one to the left sat Jerome. His shirt was in shreds and he had bruises all up his arms. He was missing a patch of hair on the right side of his head and he had a bloody lip._

_But Mara was much worse. Her hair was in knots and her arms and legs were tied. Her clothes were in shreds too. She had dry streaks down her face from crying. It appeared that they didn't see us or could hear us._

_Mara let a faint whisper. "I'm so sorry Jerome. This is all my fault…"_

_Jerome stood up and ran to the side of his cage so he could see her better. "It's not your fault Mara. Rufus is a maniac."_

_She started to sob. "I want to go home. I miss Nina and Fabian, and Trudy's cookies…"_

"_Don't worry Mara; we'll get out of this…" His voice cracked as well._

_The orb faded and Rufus laughed maniacally. I tried to yell at him but my voice wouldn't work. Rufus walked up to me. "24 hours…" And he vanished._

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. I looked over at the clock; 2:30. I lied back down, ready to fall asleep, when Amber woke up screaming.

"Amber, are you ok?" I asked as I turned on the light.

She instantly stopped screaming and looked over at me. "Oh, sorry Neens. Did I wake you?"

I shook my head. "I just woke up but you weren't the thing that woke me. I had a freakish dream that Rufus-"

"-Somehow found out that he drank the fake elixir and threatened Jerome and Mara if we didn't give him the cup and the elixir?"

I looked at her. "Yeah…did we have the same dream?"

"Yes. At the end, he came up to me and said '24 hours' then disappeared."

"He said the same thing to me in my dream." Then I thought about the dream. "Oh no…"

She looked at me with fear in her eyes. "What?"

"Do you think that Rufus might have kidnapped…" I really didn't want to finish the sentence.

Amber looked at me wide-eyed. "We should go check…"

"I'll check on Mara, you check on Jerome." I said as I opened the door and looked outside. No one was in the hallway, but I couldn't be too careful. "Ok," I whispered, "If you do run into Rufus, beat him with your lucky heels." I said, noticing her holding the red pair of shoes she had on the night she came up to the attic after me and Fabian.

"No problem. He won't know what hit him…" She snuck past me, holding the shoes high. I held back a laugh as I walked down the hall to Patricia's and Mara's room. I opened their door quietly, trying not to startle anyone who was up. When I looked in I sighed a sigh of relief; Mara was in her bed sound asleep. I closed the door and went back to my room to wait for Amber.

When she came back, she looked relieved. "No Rufus?" I asked.

"No Rufus." She replied. She walked over to her bed and got under the covers. "Night Neens."

"Night Amber…" and we fell asleep.

Mara's PoV:

I woke up early the next morning. As I was getting ready for school, I remembered to return Jerome's clothes. Right before I went downstairs to give him his clothes, Amber appeared at my door. "What do you want Amber?" I asked, putting my tie on.

"I wanted to know if it was alright if I went out with Mick."

I felt sadness and hatred when she said his name. "Sure, it's fine with me…" I said, gritting my teeth.

She giggled. "Thank you Mara! Thank you!" She ran over to me and hugged me.

"Ok, you can let go now…" I said awkwardly. She pulled apart and gasped. "Where did my lipstick go?"

I looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I had it in my hand then poof! It's gone."

"Really Amber? It's has to be around here somewhere…" I looked around my feet, but I didn't see it.

"Oh! There it is!" She picked it up off of a pile of clothes. "Oh, I'm sorry Mara; I ruined your shirt…" She picked up Jerome's shirt, which was stained with bright pink lipstick.

"Amber, this is Jerome's! Now he's going to kill me…" I took the shirt from her and screamed mentally. I went downstairs to give Jerome his clothes. "Hey Jerome?" I said as I entered his room. He was lying on his bed reading a magazine.

"Yeh?"

"Um, Amber kind of, stained your shirt with lipstick…" I handed him his shirt. He looked the stain over and threw it aside.

"It's fine."

"But I thought you were going to bite my head off."

"All I said was that you had to wait and see what I would do, I never said I'd murder you."

"Uh, ok…" I said. I was about to leave the room when he grabbed my elbow.

"Before you go, I have something to tell you."

I turned to face him. "What?"

He looked embarrassed for some reason. "Well, um… I-I found a…condom in my bed before I went to bed last night."

I realized what he was saying. "Oh, um…" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well, I guess this is good news right?" I was hoping he would say yes.

"Yep, this means I didn't get you…pregnant…"

We stood in silence for a while. "Well, this was an awkward conversation…" He finally spoke up.

I nodded. "Well I want to get to school early, so see you later…" I quickly left his room.

I was about half way to the main school building when I heard Jerome start calling my name.

"Mara! " I turned around to see a sprinting Jerome coming my way.

"Jerome? Jerome what are you-!" Suddenly a hand was over my mouth. Someone jerked me backwards into a red van. The person blindfolded me and tied my wrists together. The last thing I heard before my kidnapper and I drove off was Jerome calling my name.

Fabian's PoV: (**A/N: a round of applause for Fabian being the first male pov in the story!)**

I was pacing around the kitchen. "I'm going to tell her. I'm going to tell her." I kept repeating to myself. I need to tell Nina what happened on the night of the party, I just had to! Mick and I made a promise before the party that we weren't going to drink at all, so I had to tell her everything.

Nina walked in. "Tell who what?" She asked, grabbing an apple in the process.

"Oh, Nina… I need to tell you something about the-" I was cut short from Jerome running in.

"Guys, we have a problem!

Nina and I looked at him. "What?" I asked.

"Rufus kidnapped Mara!" He yelled.

**NOW it's a "Is she gonna die!" cliffhanger, isn't it? Hope you guys like it, I wrote half of it in science today. Learning about animal behavior can be so boring… R&R ~Charn**


	5. House of Faults

**This chapter is kinda upsetting so I suggest the squeamish should look away. I'm not changing the rating anymore, I'm just going to rate this chapter THAT? THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M!...in my head at least... I don't own HoA blah blah blah…**

Mara's PoV:

I was panicking; who would kidnap me? I started crying.

"Shut up, girl." A cold, evil voice said. (**A/N: She's blindfolded, remember that)**

"W-what do you want with me?" I sobbed.

"Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" the man sneered.

"Who are you?'

"Oh, your little friend didn't tell you? I'm Rufus Zeno. Now shut up like I told you to!"

I was about to retort, but I closed my mouth and cried silently until we arrived at some place I didn't know. Rufus pulled me out of the van and lead me to what I believe was a door. He dragged me into the building and removed the blindfold. I stood in what seemed to be an old warehouse.

Suddenly, Rufus threw me on the ground and got on top of me. I started to scream but he gagged me. "If you value your life, you will shut up…" He whispered into my ear. I nodded slowly, tears streaking my face again. "Good." He said. He ripped my blouse off and unclasped my bra. He then pulled down my skirt and underwear. I shut my eyes tightly.

I thought about my housemates and what I loved about them, anything to try to make this horrific nightmare end. I loved how Nina always stood up for what she believed in. I loved how Fabian always smiled shyly at her. I loved how Amber was always up-beat about any situation. I loved how Alfie always made me laugh. I loved how Patricia never took anyone's crap. I loved how Mick was always so supportive. And I loved how Jerome could talk to me about anything. I loved how Trudy would always make cookies when someone was upset. I even missed Victor doing his "pin drop" speech. I just wish I could just go home.

When _he_ was done with me, he threw me into a cage. He let me dress, but tied me up again afterwards, this time tying my legs too. Soon I cried myself into a restless sleep.

Jerome's PoV:

We were all sitting in Nina's room after school, having a Sibuna meeting. I can't believe I just let him take her! I'm such an idiot! "We have to go and find her!" I exclaimed.

"No, Jerome, you have to stay her and let us find her." Nina said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, I had this dream that Rufus kidnapped you too." Almost everyone looked at her like she just ate a bug. "What?" She asked, probably hating all the attention she was getting.

"I had the same dream." Patricia said.

"Me too," Alfie whispered.

"So did I…" Fabian replied as well.

"So that makes four of us who all had the same dream. This _can't_ be good…" Amber said

"Ok then it's settled; Jerome, you are _not_ leaving the house." Nina finished.

I stood up in anger. "I'm going to help find Mara! I'm the reason she got kidnapped in the first place!"

"Jerome, considering we all had the same dream; I don't think it's such a good idea." Fabian spoke up.

"I don't care what you guys say; I'm going to find her!"

Amber looked up at me. "You really care about her, don't you?"

I stared at her. "No I-"

"Don't lie, Jerome; I see it in your eyes."

I was fed up. I quickly left the room and stormed downstairs, where I ran into Trudy. "Jerome, are you ok sweetie?" She asked, putting her coat up.

I just continued to my room, not wanting to talk to anyone. Once I got there, I lied down on my bed. I was calm for a few seconds, but then I picked up my pillow with the UK flag on it and threw it across the room. It was my entire fault! I put my head in my hands. This is my fault, just like it was my fault my aunt died…

_*FLASHBACK*_

_I was 13 years old and I was with my aunt at the fish market. "Aunt Maria, when are we going to go get my birthday cake?" I asked._

"_In a moment, Jerry, I need to get some fish for your birthday supper."_

_I rolled my eyes. "I said don't call me Jerry…"_

_She laughed lightly. "Well, I don't see any cod here, so I guess we can go get your cake now."_

_We left to go get the cake, but as we were walking around the store, I saw something that caught my eye. "Aunt Maria, can you get this book for me?" I said as I held The Da Vinci Code._

"_Of course." She took the book from me and held it at her side. _

_While we were at the checkout with the cake and the book, I noticed a strange man walking towards us. I thought it was nothing, until he pulled out a gun and shot at my aunt. It hit her dead on in the stomach. I screamed. I ran towards the man, but the clerk held me back. "No, sonny, don't go after him. He could kill you too."_

_I would love for him to kill me. I wanted to be with my aunt, in life or death. I gave up fighting the clerk's grip and broke down crying. That man killed my aunt. I knew he was going to pay, one way or another. The clerk then gave me the book. "Here, you keep it." He said. I took it from him and walked out of the store, tears still falling from my eyes._

_*END OF FLASHBACK*_

It was my fault she died. I should've told her about the man coming towards us. Better yet, I should've never begged to go out that day. It was my fault that the two most important people in my life were now gone…

**I would continue, but the other ideas just don't really fit in with this chapter, so I'll save them for another. R&R ~Charn**


	6. House of Confusion

**Wow, that's new… I'm writing, at least the beginning anyway, two chapters in one night! Lol, I just realized something that I didn't mean to do on purpose. Jerome likes Mara and his aunt's name is Maria.**

Jerome's PoV:

_I was standing outside a building I didn't recognize. I heard a girl screaming from inside the building; Mara. I looked in the nearest window and what I saw made me want to kill someone; Rufus was _raping_ Mara. "Mara!' I yelled. I yelled her name over and over again, but she didn't hear me. I tried to get into the building, but the windows were tightly shut and the door was locked. _

"_Please stop! I'll do anything!" I heard Mara scream._

"_No, Mara!" I yelled, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. I banged on the door of the building, but it made no noise. "Mara! I promise I'll save you! Mara!"_

_Suddenly the setting changed. I was in a store that looked quite familiar. Out of the blue, my aunt appeared. "Aunt Maria?" I questioned._

_She smiled softly. "Hi, Jerry, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"_

_I felt tears forming in my eyes. "I've missed you so much…"_

"_Listen Jerome; You have to save your friend Mara. She is in grave danger and if you don't try soon, bad things will happen."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I can't say Jerome. Just promise me that you will save her."_

"_I promise."_

_She began to leave. "Wait." I said._

_She turned around. "What is it?"_

"_Who…" I didn't want to ask it, but I had to… "Who killed you?"_

_She frowned. "I can't tell you, but you will find out soon enough…"_

_She slowly faded away. "Good luck, Jerry…"_

"_I love you Aunt Maria…" and she was gone._

~NEXT MORNING~

Patricia's PoV:

I woke up next morning feeling like crap. "Hey Mara-"I began but then I remembered; Mara is gone.

I knew how it felt to be kidnapped by Rufus. He'd bring you food and everything but he still treated you like dirt.

After I got dressed I went over to Nina's room. "Nina are you in there?" I asked opening the door. She sat at Amber's vanity, brushing her hair.

"I'm here. So what do you want?"

"I was thinking, maybe Rufus took her back to the warehouse he kept me in."

"We'll go searching later after school."

"Gotchya." I said as I left the room, but then I remembered something. "What about Jerome. He has to go school, doesn't he?"

"I have Alfie on Jerome duty, so he can always be protected."

I laughed. "Alfie as a bodyguard?"

She looked at me and furrowed her eyebrows. "You're right."

"Well, I'm starving so I'll be downstairs." And I left the room.

Downstairs, Jerome looked depressed. "Jerome, are you alright?" Alfie asked, scarffing down another piece of toast.

"Yeah, I just…didn't get a lot of sleep last night…"

Mick and Amber walked in, hand-in-hand and Alfie looked totally upset. It didn't surprise me.

"Hey, where's Mara?" Mick asked, but Amber didn't seem to mind.

"She went to school early." I lied.

"But she wasn't at classes at all yesterday and I didn't see her come home."

"She's fine Mick." I said forcefully.

"Whatever…" He said sitting down.

Suddenly, Jerome stood up. "I'm going to school." He said flatly.

I looked over at Alfie. "Oh, um, I'll come with you." Alfie said, also standing up."

"I want to be alone, Alfie."

"No, Jerome," I said, "I'm coming with you." I stood up, grabbing my bag. He shrugged, knowing he couldn't win fight against me, or at least in my mind that's why he shrugged. We left the room together, but right before I was out of earshot I heard Mick. "Looks like Patricia fancies Jerome."

That was my breaking point. I never really liked Mick to begin with, and now that he said that I flipped out.

I quickly turned around and very casually walked up to Mick. When I was close enough to him, I swung a punch as his face. "Never make assumptions about me." I sneered.

Mick's hand was at his nose in an instant."What the hell Williamson?"

"Oh, don't worry Mick; that punch probably flattened that big nose you have." I smirked and turned around, expecting to see Jerome laughing, but he was solemn. _Wow,_ I thought,_ he must be taking this really badly…_

On the way to the main building, I decided to "interview" Jerome. "So, Jerome it seems you fancy Mara." He nodded slowly, not wanting to talk about it. "Don't worry; we'll get her back."

After several minutes of silence, he spoke up. "I-I had a dream last night…"

"So?"

"I was outside a warehouse and Mara was inside it."

I screamed in my head _Yes! She is at the warehouse! Now we can just go get her._

He continued. "Rufus, he was…He w-was raping her…" His voice cracked and I gasped in horror.

"It was just a dream…Wasn't it?"

He shook his head. "It was all too real to just be a dream…"

For the rest of the walk we were silent.

Nina's PoV:

Morning classes went by fast. I was surprised when history class finally came around. I sat next to Fabian, like always.

"Ancient Greece; The time of Philosophy." Mr. Winkler said once everyone was seated. He continued to talk about the lesson, but I wasn't paying any attention; I was too busy thinking about Rufus kidnapping Mara. Why didn't he kidnap me instead? I'm the only one who knows where the Cup is.

"Nina, we need to talk." I heard Fabian say next to me.

"What about?"

"You remember how we had a party last Saturday, right?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Well, um…I-I didn't drink anything else except the shot we had at the beginning…"

"Oook…" Then I finally registered what he was saying. "You remember everything!" I hissed.

"Yes." He said, his voice dripping with embarrassment and disappointment.

"What did we do." I demanded.

"We didn't have sex, if that's what you're asking." He said. I wave of relief washed over me.

"Then why did I wake up with you?"

"You were too drunk, I was afraid you were going to kill yourself if you went upstairs."

"I'm sorry Fabian, but I don't believe you. Tell me the truth."

He gave up. "We slept together. But I used a condom, so don't worry!" He whispered quickly.

"Nina, Fabian, I'm teaching a class here. Be quiet." Jason said.

"Ok sir…" I said turning to him, but quickly shot a look to Fabian. "We're going to talk about this after class." And I focused on the lesson.

After class I caught Fabian before he could run away. "Fabian, what you did was one hundred percent messed up. Why did you take advantage of me?"

His eyes were full of hurt. "I'm sorry Nina; I-I don't know what I was doing."

"You were the one who was sober, not me!"

"Nina I-"

"No Fabian, just…Just leave me alone." And I walked off.

Out of nowhere, Patricia came running up to me. "Nina, it's official; Mara is in the warehouse!"

"That's great! Now we can just go get her, and possibly punch Rufus in the process."

"I like the way you think, Nina Martin… Hey why does Fabian look so depressed?" She asked, looking over my shoulder.

I looked down at my feet. "Who knows? Let's just go home." I said as the final bell rang.

"Oook…"

When we got back to the house we decided to have a Sibuna meeting, without Jerome this time.

"So we think we know where Mara is." I began.

"She's in the warehouse that Rufus held me." Patricia added.

"That makes sense…" Amber said along.

"Ok, so Alfie, you stay here and keep an eye on Jerome. Amber, Patricia and I will go look for Mara."

"What about me?" Fabian asked. His beautiful dark brown eyes kept on asking me for forgiveness. I can't stay mad at him!

"You can come with us." I said as flatly as I could, still trying to give him the cold shoulder, but it wasn't working. I smiled.

"Ok, let's get going." Patricia said. We all stood up and left the room. Alfie quickly went to his and Jerome's room while we grabbed our coats and went outside. It was down pouring, but we sitll had to go look; every second counted.

We went to go get our bikes. After a ten-or-so minute bike ride, we finally got to the warehouse.

"Wait," Fabian said before we went towards the door. "What if he's armed?" We all exchanged glances. What if he was?

"We have to save Mara." Patricia said. We nodded and went up to the door.

"One of us has to stay out here if they come out." I said.

"I'll do it." Fabian volunteered.

"Thanks Fabian." I said as I slowly opened the door. I looked inside. No one was there. I let the door swing open and I ran inside. I looked behind boxes and all the other crap. No one was there.

"They aren't here!" I yelled.

"That's impossible! Where could he have taken her?" I heard Patricia yell back. I walked out of the warehouse.

"I don't know, but we better get back to the house." We slowly made our way back to the house. All of us were quiet.

When we finally got back, we were greeted by Alfie. "Guys! Guys, we have a problem!"

"What?' We all said in union.

"Jerome is gone."

**For the first time, it actually took me a day to update! I'm so sorry for putting you guys through such misery. R&R ~Charn**


	7. House of Whispers

**Hey all, Charn here. I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, yesterday was family day. Anyway, I hope you guys read "What Hurts the Most", written by me. It's like the missing link in the previous chapter on what happened while everyone was out looking for Mara. I wrote this chapter listening to the song "little lion man" by Mumford and Sons, so it's kind of my inspiration. Anyway here's chapter…7? Enjoy!**

Mara's PoV:

I was sitting in this warehouse for God knows how long, only getting out of this God-forsaken cage whenever _he_ wanted me. I felt like garbage; something you can just throw around and not give a damn what happens to it.

The door to the warehouse opened, causing me to jump. I caught a whiff of the fresh sent of rain before it closed.  
"Hello Mara…" A malicious voice said. I quivered in fear at the sound of his voice. _He _sauntered over to my cage and yanked me out by my hair.

"Please…" I begged, my voice shaking. I looked into his eyes; they were still cold, vicious pools of grey.

"You little fool…" He slapped me across the face, like he did millions of times before. "I need to feed my little _princess_, now don't I?" His voice dripped with wickedness. He threw me back into the cage, followed by a slice of bread and a small bottle of water. I quickly grabbed them even though my hands were tied. I swallowed the bread and water as fast as I could as if _he_ would take them away if I didn't. Soon after I was done, I fell into a deep sleep; the first one I had in forever.

_I was outside in the pouring rain, but I wasn't getting wet. Suddenly, I heard my friends call my name from inside a nearby wood. "Mara," they called softly, "Mara, where are you…?"_

"_Guys?" I asked as I walked towards the wood. _**(A/N: Anyone else thinking it's one of those "DON'T GO IN THERE!" moments? Cuz I sure do and I'm just writing this as I go along.)**

"_Mara…" Their soft voices called again. I started to run towards the sound of their voices. _

"_I'm coming guys, don't worry!" Tears started to fill my eyes. I was going to see my friends again!_

_I spotted them on a high hill covered in trees a few meters away. "Mara…" They called once more. I scurried up the hill, tears of joy falling from my eyes. Jerome, Nina, Fabian, Patricia, Alfie, Amber, Mick and Joy were standing there, smiling and holding hands. Jerome held out his hand for me, his smile the widest. I finally got up to them when I realized something; why was Joy there?_

_I didn't have time to think this over. They all disappeared in an instant and a new scene unfolded. It was still raining, but this time it seemed like midnight, not midday. I heard muffled grunts behind me. I turned around and what I saw made me gasp._

_Jerome and Rufus were fighting, Jerome having the upper hand. "Tell me where you took Mara!" He yelled._

_Rufus laughed malevolently. "You silly boy, you think by beating me up I will tell you what you want to know?" He dodged one of Jerome's punches and lunged at his neck. Jerome gasped for air. "I will show you though…" He laughed again, this time even colder. He threw him on the ground. Jerome was coughing._

"_Run Jerome! Save yourself!" I yelled. He looked up in my direction. Did he hear me? I'm not sure, but Rufus didn't seem to have heard me._

"_Mara?" He asked softly, his voice full of hurt. _

_Rufus grabbed Jerome by his arm and pulled him to his feet."Let's go." He said, tying Jerome's hands together. Jerome seemed to have given up on fighting him._

"_Jerome!" He threw Jerome into the van._

"_Jerome!" They started to drive away._

"Jerome!" I woke up screaming his name. I looked around the warehouse, realizing where I was. "It was just a dream. It was just a dream…" I kept repeating to myself.

Jerome's PoV:

I kept on running through the rain. I had to find her. "Mara! Mara, where are you?" I yelled over and over again, even though I knew she wouldn't hear me.

I searched everywhere for hours on end. By the time I gave up, it was midnight. I started to go home when two things happened; One, I didn't know where I was or how to get home and Two, I got a phone call from Rufus.

I quickly answered it. "Where the hell did you take her!" I demanded.

"You'll find out in good time, Jerome…" He said calmly. The way he said it reflected…me. I felt sick to my stomach, thinking that I was like Rufus. _No,_ I thought,_ you are NOT nor ever WILL BE_ _like Rufus…_

"Tell me now." I growled.

"Meet me in the clearing in five minutes. There I will tell you."

"I don't even know where I am!" I yelled into the phone.

"Oh, never mind; you're already here." He heard him say into the phone and right behind me. I jumped and turned around to face him. We both hung up at the same time.

"Where is Mara!" I demanded.

"If you come with me, I'll show you." He said as he stepped aside, showing his van. **(A/N: if a man ever asks you to get in his van, RUN FOR YOUR FREAKING LIFE! Not demonstrated by Jerome in the following sentences.)**

I flipped out. "Tell me where you took Mara!" I yelled, lunging at him and punching him in the face. We started to get into a fist fight. He punched my arms several times. He hit me in the gut once or twice.

"Tell me where you took Mara!" I yelled over and over. I was in a blind rage. I hated this guy so much, and he took Mara away from me. I didn't know what I was doing; it was like I was set on murdering him, which I technically was.

"Tell me where you took Mara!" I yelled again.

"You silly boy, you think that by beating me up I will tell you what you want to know?" Rufus laughed as he spoke, blood dripping from his lip.

Suddenly, I felt a weird presence; it was caring, but full of sadness. It threw me off, causing me to swing a punch at Rufus and miss. Soon after I tried to punch him, he grabbed me by the throat, choking me.

"I will show you though…" He cackled. He let go of my throat, causing me to drop to the ground. I gasped for air.

"_Run Jerome! Save yourself!"_ I heard someone speak softly. I turned to the direction it came from.

"Mara?" I asked, looking around. I didn't see her, but I knew she was there. I could feel her. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true.

Rufus came back, this time with rope. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. Then he bound my hands together."Let's go." He said, dragging me towards his van. I didn't bother fighting him; I knew that he was taking me to the same place he took Mara. I just wanted to see Mara again.

Rufus threw me into the back of his van. _"Jerome…"_ I heard.

We started to drive away. "_Jerome…"_

I looked out the back window. I saw a misty figure. _"Jerome…"_ I heard one more time, the figure fading as I listened…

**I'm sorry but I have to say .. who's with me? And if any of you didn't notice, in Mara's dream everyone was saying "Mara where are you" and Jerome was yelling that while looking for her, you know, just in case you didn't notice... R&R ~Charn**


	8. House of ISpy

Nina's PoV:

We were all sitting in a circle on my bedroom floor, having yet another Sibuna meeting. "First we lost Mara, now we lost Jerome. Could this get any worse?" I practically yelled.

Fabian raised his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't think it can, but we can't be certain."

"How are we supposed to save them?" Amber asked.

"We can't give him the cup or the elixir." Patricia added.

"But we have to get them back! Jerome's my best mate!" Alfie jumped in.

Everyone started yelling at each other. Amidst the chaos, I heard Patricia. "We have to get them back though! Jerome told me he had a dream that Rufus raped Mara!"

Apparently everyone heard her say this, because everyone was quiet in a second and we were all staring at Patricia.

"Rufus did what to Mara?" I asked my voice barely audible.

"You heard me…" Patricia said. It wasn't as snotty as it was like she didn't want to repeat it.

"Ok now we _have_ to save them." Fabian announced.

"But we still have the problem of giving him the Cup and elixir." I said.

"Nina, what is more important; our friends or the Cup?" Fabian stared deep into my eyes. I felt uneasy under his gaze. I was about to answer when the most unlikely person spoke up.

"I've got an idea!" Amber exclaimed.

Jerome's PoV: **(A/N: Mwuahahaha, I torture you with a cliffhanger in the middle of the story!)**

Rufus dragged me into an abandoned warehouse and threw me into a cage. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light, I saw a small figure in the cage next to me. "Mara!" I exclaimed.

She looked up. Apparently she didn't hear us come in a couple seconds ago or she did, but didn't know I was with Rufus. "J-Jerome…?" She said. Her voice was full of fear and hurt. It made my heart break.

"Yes, it's me. Don't worry; we'll get out of this." I said as I struggled against the rope that held my hands together.

She sniffled. "No we won't… We're going to stay here till we die…"

"Mara don't talk like that!"

Suddenly, a flash of lightning lit up the room, causing everything to be illuminated. Rufus was at the door, watching the little scene I was making unfold. He looked even creepier when the lightning flashed, if that was even possible.

The lights came on in an instant, blinding me for a second or two. I watched as Rufus quickly made his way over to Mara's cage. He unlocked it and dragged her out by her hair. "Hey," I yelled, "You can't do that to her!"

Rufus laughed. "I think you are no position to tell me what to do Jerome…" He said calmly, making my stomach turn. I looked over at Mara, finally getting a good look of her in the light; her school uniform was dirty and torn and her hair was in knots. She looked incredibly weak.

Suddenly, he threw Mara on the ground. I knew what was coming next, my thoughts racing back to the dream I had a couple nights ago. "Mara!" I screamed as Rufus climbed on top of her. Mara started to cry as Rufus ripped off her clothing. I had to look away.

I continued to repeat the words in my head until it was over. But when it was I realized I did not only repeat the words in my head, but I was slamming my head against the side of the cage. Blood trickled down the side of my face and my vision began to get fuzzy. Soon enough, I blacked out.

_I was in the warehouse, still in the cage. Suddenly, Nina appeared, hazy and on the other side of the bars.._

"_Yes Amber's plan worked!" She exclaimed. I looked at her quizzically. "Oh, hey Jerome…"_

"_Nina, what are you doing in my dream?" I asked._

"_Well, it's not really a dream, it's- ohmygosh! Jerome, your head! It's bleeding and you're missing a patch of hair!"_

"_Oh, yeah, that's what you get when you bang your head on metal bars for 30 minutes." I said sarcastically. "Now will you tell me what you're doing here!"_

"_Right, so you know how I told you about the dreams I get from Sarah?" She asked. I nodded. "Well, Amber had this brilliant idea that maybe there was an Egyptian spell that did the same thing and there is! That's how I'm here. I'd tell you the spell, but like everything else, 'only the chosen one can do it."_

"_Ok…" I responded._

"_Ok so where are you?"_

"_I honestly don't know. It was too dark and foggy to make out any land marks on the way here."_

"_Damn… Well I have to go, the spell doesn't last that long. Oh and don't worry'; you'll wake up after I disappear…now." She vanished._

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. It seemed to be early morning, but it didn't stop raining all night. I still heard the light "pitter-patter" of the rain on the roof. I looked over at Mara, who was asleep. Right before I decided to fall asleep, she woke up instantly. "Mara, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes I just had a dream. Well, it wasn't really a dream…"

"Nina came to talk to you too huh?" I said with a smirk.

"Yes, in fact she did." She said smiling. It seemed to be the first smile she made in a while.

"So, where's Rufus?" I asked.

"The son of a bitch usually leaves in the morning…" I was shocked that she actually cussed.

"Well then… Want to play a game?" I asked.

"Sure."

"Ok, I spy something….Brown." I said, looking at a box to my left.

"Um, that box?" She asked, nodding to it.

"Yes, your turn."

"I spy something…Blue." She said, smiling shyly.

"Um…" I looked around the room, looking for anything that was blue. "That ball?' I nodded to a ball but she shook her head no. "How about… Oh, my shirt!" I said looking down at my light blue button-up shirt.

"Guess again…"

"I give up…"

She looked up at me and smiled. "Your eyes…" She said flirtingly.

"Oh so that's how you want to play it huh?" I said scooting over so I could be closer to Mara. "Ok then, I spy something beautiful."

She mocked confusion. "I wonder what it could be… Is it…you?" She giggled.

"So close but yet so far…"

"Wow this is a hard one… Could it possibly be me?"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" I joked.

She giggled. "Thank you Jerome, for making me feel so much better…" She smiled at me.

I shrugged. "No problem."

Her smile faded when we heard the sound of a car pulling up.

Rufus appeared at the door in an instant. "Hello Jerome, Mara, how nice to see you two again."

"Nice to see you too Rufus…" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sorry to ask but could you untie me?" To my surprise, Rufus walked over to my cage and grabbed my tied wrists. Then he took out a pocket knife and cut me free. "I can honestly say I wasn't expecting that…" I said, rubbing my wrists.

In the blink of an eye, Rufus lunged at me and stabbed me in the arm. White hot pain shot up to my shoulder and I screamed. "Shut up." He spat, removing the knife from my forelimb in the process.

"You mother-!" I began, but I decided not to finish, considering what he just did to me. When he was out of earshot, I turned to Mara. "Don't worry; Alfie and the others will save us."

But apparently Rufus wasn't out of ear. "Wasn't he the boy that supposedly died when I drank the elixir?" I held my breath, not wanting to answer, but that seemed to speak even louder than expected.

"Well, well, well," He said, bending down next to me. "Things just got very interesting…"


	9. House of Gunshots

**Hey all, Charn here. So I would like to dedicate the first part of this chapter to Dally2, she gave me the idea for it. ENJOY!**

Jerome's PoV:

I gulped. "C'mon Jerome, you used to work for me…" Rufus sneered. "Now, tell me. Was this "Alfie" the one who supposedly died when I drank the elixir?"

"No." I said.

"Are you sure about that?" I nodded. "Well I think you're lying Jerome…"

"And what are you going to do about it?" I asked, standing up and putting my hands around the bars.

"I'm going to torture you until you tell me the truth." Rufus steadily backed up to Mara's cage and pulled her out by her hair.

"Leave her alone you sick creep!" I yelled.

"Oh, I will leave her alone, if you tell me what I want to know." Rufus slapped her across the face.

"Don't tell him Jerome!" Mara screeched, but Rufus punched her in the gut.

"Mara!"

"I'm losing my patience Jerome. Now tell me what I want to know." Rufus raged.

"Jerome! I'll be fine, just don't tell him anything!"

"I…I won't tell you!"

"Fine then, it's your choice." Rufus pulled out a gun and pointed it at Mara's head.

"NO! I'll tell you everything! Just don't kill Mara!" I pleaded.

"That's what I was looking for… Well, out with it boy!" He yelled, still holding the gun to Mara's head.

"The elixir you drank was a fake. We switched it out before hand and threw the real one in the trash."

"You insolent boy!" He pointed the gun at me and cocked it. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for the loud bang to end my life, but it never came. Instead he ran up to me and pulled my head up by the hair. "You better hope that your little friends find the elixir or I will feed your heart to Ammut myself!" **(A/N: Ammut ate the hearts of unworthy souls in Egyptian mythology).**

I let out a nervous laugh. "Let's not be rash here…"

"Shut up." He said as he pushed me backwards into the bars.

"Well, aren't you going to message them or something?" I asked.

"In good time…" He said, almost like he was mocking me…

**TEN DAYS LATER:**

Amber's PoV:

Jerome has been "missing" for ten days, as Victor put it, which is _so_ not true…I think. OH and Mara's been missing for like, twelve days. We've been looking for them each and every night, but we still can't find them. And Mick is starting to notice.

"Hey babes," Mick said as he sat down next to me at the table.

"Hey boo!" I exclaimed.

"I've got a question; where did Jerome and Mara go?"

"Uh…" What am I supposed to tell him? They've been taken by some maniac and he's raping Mara? "They're, um, o-on a date! Yeah, a date!"

Mick didn't buy it. "Ams, they've been missing for ten days at the very least. What's going on?"

"Oh, um…" I began when Fabian and Nina walked in holding hands. "Oh, hey Neens! I need talk to you, like, now." I said as I grabbed her arm and towed her into the kitchen.

"Amber are you alright?" She asked as I closed the dividing window.

"Yeah, totally peachy, but we have a major problem; Mick is starting to catch on with the whole Jerome and Mara missing business! What am I supposed to tell him?"

Nina thought for a moment. "I've got it! We tell Mick that Jerome and Mara are having family issues which made them go home for a while."

"You're brilliant Neens!" I exclaimed. I quickly entered the dining room once again and sat down next to Mick. "Ok, so I'm really not supposed to tell you this but-" I glanced at Fabian, who looked mortified, and winked, "But Jerome and Mara are having some major family problems, so they had to go home." I said, cracking a smile.

"Oh, ok." Mick replied when Trudy walked in.

"Sorry dearies, but I have to set the table for supper. All of you have to leave." We got up in union, Mick groaning in disappointment as we did. We went over to the common area.

"Oh, sorry boo, I have to go change." I said noticing that I was still in my school uniform. I kissed him on the cheek before I ran upstairs to my room. I had so many outfits to choose from; a cute pink micro-skirt with a tight prep top, all the way down to a lavender dress my Daddy got me for my birthday last year, but I decided to go with my frilly pink dress that ended mid-thigh.

When I was about half-dressed, Patricia barged through my door. I screamed.

"Calm down Amber, I'm a girl too you know." Patricia said, crossing her arms.

"Well sorry if I'm jumpy!" I said as I pulled my dress over my head, so it sounded more like "Wll sorrif imjuppy!"

Patricia rolled her eyes. "Sibuna meeting tonight after supper."

"Really? That'll be the ninth one this week!"

"Amazing, you can count!" She mocked excitement and clapped her hands. I glared at her.

"Fine, I'll be at eh meeting, but I won't be talking to you."

"Whatev-ow!" Patricia yelled.

"What?"

"I have a stomachache, probably from lunch earlier…" She said as she left the room. I shrugged.

After supper, we were all sitting in my room. "Ok, so earlier I got a text from Rufus." Patricia said when everyone was settled down.

"What did he say?" Alfie asked, leaning towards her ever so slightly. Awe!

Patricia pulled out her phone and scrolled through her messages. Then she read aloud. "Hello everyone, I understand that you gave me a fake elixir. If you would like to see your friends again, you will bring me the cup and the real elixir. You have 72 hours, and then I will mummify your pathetic little friends alive. –R.Z" Patricia finished, putting her phone away.

"72 hours, that's three days." Fabian said matter-of-factly.

"Great, we only have three days to save our friends!" Nina fumed.

I sighed and looked out the window; it hasn't stopped raining since the day Jerome went missing… "Well, how about we just give him another fake elixir?" I asked.

"He'll be expecting that, so he want to see one of us drop dead right in front of him." Fabian replied.

"Well if we just use our _wonderful_ acting skills again, he might buy it." I said, pretending to faint.

"Yeah, well as long as it's not you dying Amber." Patricia said as she pushed me out of her way. I glared at her.

"Wow, if looks could kill…" Alfie commented. I glared at him too and he acted like he was choking.

"Oh, we'll give him the fake elixir, but this time I'll be the one 'dying'." Fabian said.

"Thank you Fabian…" Nina said, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

"So what, are we doing this now?" I asked.

"No, we have to make another fake elixir and get the Cup out of hiding."

"But do we do we do when he does get the Cup?" Patricia inquired.

"He'll probably just drop it on the ground."

"It's ten o'clock!" Victor boomed from downstairs, "You have five minutes precisely, and then I want to hear a pin…drop!"

"Well we better get downstairs. C'mon Alfie…" Fabian said as he got up.

"Right behind you dude." Alfie responded and they left.

"I better get to bed too; night you two." Patricia said as she left the room.

I yawned. "I'm tired Neens, let's go to bed." I got into bed and turned off the light. "Night, Neens."

"Night, Amber." She replied.

As soon as I closed my eyes I fell asleep.

Nina's PoV:

I made sure Amber was asleep before I decided to check up on Jerome. I haven't talked to either of them since the night Jerome went missing. I started chanting. "Isis and Nephthys, sisters of magic, grant me the way to my friend's dream." I said. "Isis and Nephthys, sisters of magic, grant me the way to my friend's dream. Isis and Nephthys, sisters of magic, grant me the way to my friend's dream." **(A/N: Isis and Nephthys were sisters in Egyptian mythology, Isis being the goddess of magic and Nephthys being the goddess of sleep and dreams, or at least that's what the internet told me.)** When I was done, I slowly began to fall asleep.

I was standing in the warehouse, waiting for Jerome to "wake up."

"Jerome…Jerome…JEROME!" He opened his eyes instantly.

"Nina! I'm sleeping here!" He hissed.

I rolled my eyes. "You technically are still sleeping, you know."

"Wow, very important to know… So, how long have we've been gone?"

"You've been gone for ten days and Mara's been gone for twelve. So what's going on here?" I asked.

His face darkened. "You don't want to know…"

"Yes I do, now talk."

"Fine, Rufus has been threatening us with a gun each day you guys don't bring the Cup and the elixir."

"B-but we only found out today!"

"I know that, and he does too. I guess he just likes torturing us…"

"Are you guys ok?"

"Yes just hurry up! I know you only have three days left but-!" He was cut off by the sound of gunshots.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting straight up in my bed. A million questions went through my mind, but one question seemed to keep showing itself; did Rufus shoot Jerome?

**AAAAAAAHHH! For two reasons; One, did he shoot Jerome? And two, I HAVE WRITERS BLOCK! PM me with suggestions for the story please! R&R~ Charn**


	10. House of Shock

**Yay! I do NOT have writer's block anymore! I feel so alive! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Now come Fluffy, we must take over the world! *notices the audience* Oh, he-e-ey guys… Um… I don't own House of Anubis? *Runs off the stage awkwardly***

Jerome's PoV:

I woke up to the sounds of a gunshot and white-hot pain running up my leg. I screamed in pain, my hands going straight for my shin. I heard another gunshot and Mara's scream.

When the pain finally subsided, I opened my eyes. Rufus was standing in front of our cages, gun in hand. "What the hell was that for you maniac!" I screamed.

His face was full of pure anger. "You two have been talking with that Nina Martin girl…"

"You have no proof!" I yelled.

"Oh but I do. Did you know that those silly communication dreams cause you to talk in your sleep?" He sneered. I held back the urge to run up and strangle him with my now-bloody hands. "Now, I suggest this never happens again, or I will put another bullet in your head…" I glared at him, but nodded slowly. "Good…" He said as we walked out of the building, but before he closed the door, he turned to me. "I will be right back; no funny business…" And he left.

"Like what? Run away?" I mumbled.

My eyes wandered over to Mara; her upper arm was bloody and you could still see the bullet wound. I could tell she was trying hard not to cry. "Mara," I said softly. "First off, it's ok to cry and tw-" I was interrupted by an outburst of sobs. "and two, come here…" I finished after she calmed down.

She inched her way over to the edge of the cage. Then I took off my shirt and tore off a piece of it. "Here," I said, leaning over so I could reach her through both cages. "This is going to hurt, so brace yourself." I wrapped the cloth around her arm and tied it into a knot. I pulled tightly on it. She winced in pain.

"Thank you Jerome, you're the best." She murmured as she pulled away. She gasped. "Jerome, you leg!"

I looked down at my shin; my pants were dark red around the wound. I quickly tore off another piece from my shirt and tied it around my leg, muffling a scream of pain as I did. "Thanks for the notice Mara…" I said, wiping blood off my hand and onto my pants. "Now we should get some sleep; the best thing to do in these situations is to rest." I said sternly.

"When did you become a survival expert?" She inquired. I chuckled.

"Just sleep, ok?" I said as I lied down. She nodded and lied down too. Soon we were both asleep.

Nina's PoV:

When I woke up the next morning, I immediately called everyone in for a Sibuna meeting. Everyone was not happy about this.

"What the hell is this about?" Patricia said, rubbing her head in the process. Why you may ask? Because I hit her with a pillow to wake her up, several times.

Everyone slowly walked into the room, all of the groggy, and sat down around me.

"Ok, so last night, I was decided to talk to Jerome through his dreams, right? Well at one point there was…" I gulped, "There was a gunshot."

Well that woke them up. "What!" They all screamed.

"…And then I woke up, so apparently Jerome did too…I hope…"

Everyone was silent for a moment, when Fabian spoke up. "He's not dead. He can't be."

"Well what about Mara? She could be the one that was shot." Amber piped up.

"Amber!" I whisper-shouted.

"What did I do?"

"We don't know if anyone was shot. He could have just pulled the trigger to wake them up." Fabian said half-heartedly.

"Or maybe he committed suicide." Patricia suggested. We all laughed softly.

"Well we still have two days left, so I don't think he would ki-" I was cut off by the sound of Patricia's ringtone.

_According to you I'm stupid, I'm useless  
I can't do anything right  
According to you I'm difficult, hard to please  
Forever changing my mind_

Patricia reached into the pocket of her pajama bottoms and pulled out her phone. "It's a text from Rufus."

"You gave him a _ringtone_?" Amber questioned.

"It fit; you see, he thinks I'm stupid and-oh forget it Amber, it's not important right now!" She spat. She looked over the text, her eyes getting wider as she read, until she finally looked up at us.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Rufus said that we have to get him the elixir and the Cup tomorrow night at seven, or they die. And he said not to talk to them through their dreams either or they will die for that too."

My eyes widened as well. "So we have only a day and a half, or we never get to see our friends again?"

"Seems like it." Fabian answered.

"Ok, Fabian, you come with me to go get the Cup. Alfie, you distract Mick."

"What about us?" Amber asked.

"Amber, you and Patricia…" I really didn't want to say it but I had to. "You and Patricia have to get help from Victor."

**Liked it? I feel like I'm losing my spunk. But yep, I don't have writer's block anymore! Oh and this is the shortest chapter in the story. A total of 903 words =] R&R~Charn**


	11. House of Wait

**YES! FINALLY! I finally updated! *Happy Dance*The reason this took sooo long was because I know what I want to right **_**after**_** this chapter, but I had absolutely no idea how to right this chapter. Long story short, this is pretty much a filler.**

Patricia's PoV:

My mouth fell open. "What do you mean 'Get help from Victor'?"

Nina sighed. "I mean we need his help. This is getting too serious; we need somebody we can trust."

"Someone we can trust? Then why are you choosing Victor? He kidnapped Joy, he stuffs animals for fun, he was willing to kill us all for immortality, he-"

"Ok, I get it!" Nina snapped. I leaned back, sort of in surprise. Nina was all goodie-goodie and she just snapped at me.

"But what do we say to Victor?" Amber inquired.

"You have to tell him about Rufus and how he kidnapped Jerome and Mara. We need him to come along with us tomorrow in case something goes wrong."

"We're talking about Rufus, here. Of course something's going to go wrong!" I hissed.

"Exactly. Now let's go. Sibuna?" Nina placed her hand over her eye.

"Sibuna." We copied. We all stood up and exited the room. As we entered the hallway, I quickly grabbed Amber's arm so she wouldn't run away.

"Let's go." I said to her.

"I really don't want to though…" She whined.

"Too freakin' bad." I said as I towed her behind me to Victor's office. Once I was in front of the door, I knocked.

"Come in." Victor said from behind the door. I opened the door and dragged Amber inside. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked.

I let go of Amber and crossed my arms. "I know this is going to sound weird, but we need your help."

Victor looked up from his work and glared at me. "Why would I want to help you pathetic vermin?" He demanded.

"Vermin! We're not-" I began, but I regained my composure. "Rufus kidnapped both Jerome and Mara. He's going to kill them if we don't give him the Cup and the elixir."

He scoffed. "The less of you the better. Now go on your way, Miss Williamson and Miss Millington, I have work to be done." He shooed us away, but I wasn't taking any of it.

"Look," I snapped, slamming my hands against his desk, making Amber jump. "Mara's my best friend and Jerome's your little spy. And besides," I said, crossing my arms. "It would look bad if two kids that were under _your_ watch were found dead in some ditch."

Victor stood up. "Ok, then, Miss Williamson, I will help you both, but on one condition; you both clean the house from top to bottom when this is over."

Amber spoke up. "Isn't that Trudy's job?" I looked over my shoulder and glared at her. She shrugged.

"Do you want my help or not, Miss Millington?"

"Sorry…" She said.

"Well then, if you have nothing else to say to me, I suggest you two get out of my office." He said, opening the door. Amber quickly left, and I wasn't too far behind her.

"Ok, we got help from Creepy McCreeperton, now we just have to wait for Nina and Fabian to get back. Once that's done, we get Jerome and Mara back." I said once we got out of Victor's office.

"I just hope we're not too late." Amber whispered.

"Me too, Amber, me too…"

Jerome's PoV:

I woke up suddenly to the sound of a door slamming. "Good news for the both of you," Rufus said. "You guys seem to be leaving early."

I looked over at Mara; her makeshift bandage was now soaked with blood, but she didn't seem to care.

"When?" I asked warily.

"Tomorrow night, but it's a shame I get to lose you Mara…" He said stepping closer to her. Mara tried to back away from him, but he was able to grab her and pull her towards him through the bars. "How about one more round for old time's sake?" He sneered.

"What is wrong with you!" I yelled.

He ignored me and pulled Mara out of the cage. Mara struggled against his grip. "Lemme go!" Mara screamed. She eventually kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fly backwards into some boxes.

"You idiotic girl!" Rufus shrieked once he got up. Mara's victory was short lived as Rufus stormed up to her. In one motion he pulled out his gun and pointed it directly at her head.

"Mara!" I wanted to help her but I couldn't. I hate feeling so useless. I've felt it my entire life and this wasn't making a difference.

"Please!" She screamed. Rufus glared at her and put his gun away, only to pull out a knife. Honestly, how many weapons does this guy have?

He leaned down and pressed the knife to Mara's neck. It dug into her skin, causing her to bleed. Rufus mumbled something into her ear then pulled the knife away.

Rufus grabbed Mara by the hair and threw her back in her cage. **(A/N: I just hate typing that. It makes me think they're animals…)**

Mara seemed to be crying. "Mara? Mara, what did he say to you?" I asked. All she did was shake her head. Tears were pouring out of her eyes. Note to self: Once we get out of this, hunt down Rufus and murder the freak.

After several minutes of quiet, Mara spoke up. "What do we do now?"

"Now, we wait…"

Nina's PoV:

Fabian and I walked over to the school to go get the Cup. Several times he offered to guard me from the rain, but I would decline. I still didn't forgive him entirely for the…well, you know…

Halfway to the school, Fabian spoke up. "Do you think we'll get them back?"

"I'm not too sure. Rufus was about to drive away with Patricia that one time…" Fabian nodded.

An awkward silence surrounded us for another block or two before I finally had the guts to ask this one simple question.

"Why did Rufus take Mara in the first place? I mean, he knew I was the Chosen one, _and_ that I knew where the Cup was hidden."

"Well, maybe that's it."

"Excuse me?"

"He knows that you're the probably the only one who knows where the Cup is hidden. That's why he left you alone."

"Possibly… But you remember what Jerome told Patricia, right? For all we know, this could've started out as…" I really didn't want to finish that sentence…

Fabian nodded as he held the door open for me. "That doesn't matter right now. All that matters is getting our friends back."

I smiled at him. He can be so sweet at times…scratch that, he's sweet all the time!

We walked into the school, and there was a strange sense of…Security? Well, I guess since the kids at this school could be maniacs…

There was one more question (well, technically two) that were gnawing at the back of my mind. I guess it was now or never to ask…

"Fabian," I said with a deep breath, "Why did you take advantage of me that one night at the party?"

Fabian shook his head as we turned the corner. "Honestly, Nina, I don't know why. I wasn't being myself and all the hormones…" There it is again, his little frown…

Because I was all goo-goo eyes over Fabian, I ran into a doorframe. "Nina! Nina, are you ok?" Fabian asked, trying to hide a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I sure the internal bleeding will calm down eventually…" I said sarcastically, putting a hand on my head.

When the room stopped spinning I finally figured out we were in the auditorium. "C'mon." I said as I ran over to the stage. I looked for the loose floorboard for a second, and when I found it, I lifted it up. I reached in, took hold of the Cup, and pulled it out. "Let's get back to the others." I said. He nodded in agreement and headed back to the house.

Once we got back, we called a Sibuna meeting.

"You got the Cup, yeah?" Patricia asked.

"Yep." I said, pulling it out of my bag.

"Now what?" Alfie inquired.

"Now we wait…"

**Yes, I have updated! =DDDD Aaaand, I'm officially my English teacher's favorite student =] I think it's kinda ironic how I haven't updated in three weeks and Glee has been off the air (until today) for three weeks...Hmmm... OOOH! I'm also working on a Crossover of HoA. I'm not telling you what it is, just in case someone steals my idea, but I will give you a hint: Dough Boy. Try and figure that one out. And please, please, **_**please**_**, PM me with your answer… **_**~Charn**_


	12. House of Return

**Honestly, I'm sorry about not updating in like, forever, but I just was kind of…bored. Yep, bored. **

**No, actually, that's not the reason I haven't been updating. It's just that I've lost faith in this story. Reading it over, it looks somewhat dumb. I kinda don't want to write the sequel, or even finish the story. But you people are lucky, because I am. Therefore, I deserve a virtual hug.**

_**Patricia's PoV:**_

I stood in front of my full-length mirror, just looking at myself. _I have to tell Alfie,_ I thought,_ I can't keep this a secret forever…_

Suddenly my phone vibrated, snapping me out of my trance. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. _**One new message: RZ **_was scrawled across the screen. Great, what does he want this time?

I reluctantly looked over the message: _**Meet me at the old warehouse where I kept you. 7:00 and bring the Cup.**_

"Guys! I have the time and place!" I called. Sibuna quickly gathered into my room. "We're meeting him at the warehouse he kept me in at seven."

"What time is it now?" Nina asked.

Fabian checked his watch. "6:36"

"Good. Alfie, do you have the fake elixir?"

"Right here." Alfie held up a bottle filled with yellowish-orange liquid.

"Ok and I have the Cup in my bag. Let's go get Victor and we'll leave." We all nodded in agreement. They all ushered out of the room, but I hesitated for a moment. Alfie noticed.

"Trixie, are you alright?" _Tell him now!_ My mind screamed.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine, just…happy we're getting Jerome and Mara back…" I said, avoiding his gaze.

Alfie came over and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Let's go." He said as he led me out of the room. Jerome and Mara, here we come.

**Jerome's PoV: **

"Wake up, the both of you!" Rufus' voice rang out. I groaned as I heaved myself up into a sitting position. Before I knew what was going on, a hand gripped onto my arm and yanked me out of the cage.

"Hey, watch it!" I snapped. When I stood up, I felt a searing pain shoot up my shin. The gun-shot wound. It was probably infected by now. _Shit._

Rufus went over to Mara's cage and yanked her out by her hair, making her let out a faint yelp.

Mara looked much older than she really was. About thirty, possibly. She was also deathly pale. It made me think if I also looked as shitty…

Rufus practically dragged us to his van. _We're going home, _I kept thinking to myself. _We're going home…_

**Fabian's PoV: **

We pulled up to the warehouse a little before seven. I've "died" before on stage, so I hope it's as believable this time too. I just hope he doesn't stay long enough to check my pulse.

We stood around in the icy cold rain, waiting for Rufus to show up with our friends. It seemed that everyone was getting anxious. What if they don't show? _Yeah right…_

Finally, Rufus pulled up. Slowly, he got out of the van and made his way towards us. "Well, well, well, I didn't expect to see you here Victor." Rufus cackled.

"Just shut up, you bastard." Patricia barked.

Now give me the Cup and the elixir." He sneered.

"Give us back our friends, first." Nina said, glaring at Rufus. If looks could kill…

"What, you don't trust an old aquaintence?"

"No!" Patricia snapped.

"Well, then I'll just have to go and get them, now don't I?" Rufus went and got Jerome and Mara, and the sight was not pretty: They were both disheveled. Jerome's shirt was torn in several places and he had a limp. Mara looked worse though; her hair was in knots and she was pale. Her clothes were also torn.

"Now give me the Cup." Rufus said, holding out his hand. Reluctantly, Nina took the Cup out of her bag and handed it to Rufus. He took the Cup as he smiled maliciously.

Suddenly, Rufus lunged at Victor, smashing the blunt end of the Cup against his skull. Victor fell down, unconscious. Everyone jumped back in surprise.

"Now," said Rufus, "give me the elixir unless you want to end up like Victor." Alfie's eyes widened as he took the elixir out of his back pocket and threw it to Rufus.

Rufus uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into the Cup. He chugged the entire thing and threw the cup on the ground. I was preparing for my moment when something unexpected happened: Both Jerome and Mara collapsed.

Mara was now lying on Jerome, both of them unconscious. Rufus just laughed. "Such a shame. I've lost a beautiful girl and an amazing spy." And then, he was gone.

I turned to Alfie, completely infuriated. "I thought you said that was a fake elixir!"

"It was! I swear!" Alfie exclaimed, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Where did you get it?"

"The dumpster!" I was ready to punch him.

"That was the real elixir, you idiot!" I yelled, completely out of character.

"But I-"

"GUYS!" Patricia butt in. She was standing over Jerome and Mara. "Guys, they don't have a pulse…"

**Ok, was it worth the wait? I think it was. Anyway, review if you want. I'd love your feedback, but I request constructive criticism and not flames. OK? OK.**


End file.
